(TotalConservative.com) – After a warning from leaders in the tech industry in the form of an open letter, Democratic and Republican lawmakers seem to be finding some common ground in the 118th Congress regarding artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Most of the lawmakers on either side agree that something needs to be done to keep AI in check.
According to the leader of the Senate AI Caucus, Sen. Mike Rounds, what needs to be done is “to identify what is not allowed in terms of ethics and illegal activities, whether it is AI or not,” meaning the activities of the technology should have imposed upon it “the same level of ethics and privacy” that are imposed on “other competencies today.”
This comes in response to a letter issued by the Future of Life Institute titled “Autonomous Weapons Open Letter: AI & Robotics Researchers” that was signed by over 1,000 tech leaders, including Elon Musk of Tesla and Steve Wozniak of Apple.
The letter, citing potential societal risks, urges AI developers to “immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4,” which is the latest deep learning model developed by OpenAI, until safety protocols to guide and keep the technology in check can be developed. Development should be resumed “once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks… manageable.”
A hearing was held recently by the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee about the pros and cons of AI technology. The Committee Chair Gary Peters said he intends “to have a series of hearings… taking up AI and what we should be thinking about.”
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet sent a letter to tech company leaders last week asking them to consider the safety of children when rolling out AI systems like chatbots, suggesting creating an agency to regulate them. Until then, he said the companies will have to police themselves. When asked if Congress should get involved, he said he thinks “we do have a role to play.”
Republican Sen. JD Vance took a more cautionary stance than his colleagues not to rush into action before understanding the technology, saying “it’s way too early to say what role Congress should take.”
Copyright 2023, TotalConservative.com
